Phillies Recap: NLCS Game Four

National League Championship Series - Game Four
Philadelphia Phillies 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
W - Brad Lidge (1-0, 0.00), L - Jonathan Broxton (0-1, 6.00)

Game four of the National League Championship series was an exciting and close affair all night long. Joe Blanton started off very strong and then got shaky, while Randy Wolf did the opposite in his start. The Philadelphia Phillies took an early lead, but the Los Angeles Dodgers battled back and carried a late lead into the ninth inning. However, late inning heroics from Jimmy Rollins helped the Phillies defeat Jonathan Broxton and the Dodgers by a final of 5-4. The walk-off win has already become the Phillies' signature win this postseason. With the win, the Phillies take a commanding 3-1 series lead and are one game from reaching their second consecutive World Series.

Game Summary: Los Angeles Dodgers

Randy Wolf got off to a slow start as he allowed two hits and a pair of runs on a Ryan Howard home run in the first inning. However, after the Phillies took the early lead, Wolf was brilliant, shutting down their offense for almost five innings. In the sixth inning, working with a lead, Wolf allowed one more run, but departed the game after 5.1 innings with a lead in tact. The Dodgers' bullpen was sharp in relief of Wolf, keeping the Phillies hitless and preserving Wolf's lead. That was, all until the ninth inning. Jonathan Broxton, on for a four-out save, allowed a walk, hit batter, and game-winning double in the ninth inning to blow the save and take the loss.

The Dodger offense was sluggish out of the gate against Blanton, as he retired the first 10 batters in a row. However, they came alive, putting up a pair of runs to tie the game in the fourth inning, then scored in the next two innings to take a 4-2 lead. However, as the game wound down, they squandered several key scoring opportunities which could have iced the game away. James Loney had a pair of hits and an RBI, while Matt Kemp homered and scored a pair of runs.

Game Summary: Philadelphia Phillies

Joe Blanton had a great start to his night, as he was very efficient and retired the Dodgers in order for the first three innings. However, trouble came quickly in the fourth inning, as the Dodgers strung some hits together off of Blanton to tie the game. Blanton seemed to lose his command after that point, allowing a run to score in the next two innings. Blanton finished his night tossing six innings, while allowing three earned runs and four overall. The Phillies' bullpen came in and tossed three masterful innings of shut out ball, highlighted by Brad Lidge's pair of strike outs in the ninth which earned him the win.

The Phillies offense was once again all about Ryan Howard. Howard homered in the first inning for an early lead, which also set a new major league record for most consecutive postseason games with an RBI (in one season) at eight. However, after the homer, the Phillies' offense fell asleep and barely stirred over the next seven innings. They did tack on an important run in the sixth inning. But the real story came in the ninth inning, when they found themselves down to their last out with a pair of runners on. Jimmy Rollins lined a ball deep into the right field gap to plate a pair and win the ball game in dramatic fashion.

Phillies NLCS Previews
Overview, Rotations, Bullpens, Hitters

Game Previews: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Game Recaps: One, Two, Three, Four, Five